The Ethereum treasury company has once again significantly increased its holdings of ETH, bringing the total to 345,000 coins.

A certain Ethereum treasury strategy company announced on August 4 that it has increased its holdings by 10,605 ETH again, bringing its total Ethereum holdings to 345,362 ETH, worth approximately $1.27 billion. This is the company's second large-scale increase within less than half a month of its listing.

As a company focused on Ethereum investment, the institution announced in July that it would be listed on Nasdaq, with an initial plan to hold 400,000 ETH, valued at nearly $1.6 billion. By the end of July, the company had already made an additional purchase of 15,000 ETH.

The company's aggressive expansion comes at a critical time when several publicly traded companies are competing to purchase ETH. As the regulatory framework becomes clearer, more and more listed companies are beginning to incorporate ETH into their asset allocation.

$1.6 billion enters the fray, Ethereum treasury competition heats up

The Ethereum treasury track has become a battleground for institutions. The listing of this company has completely ignited the competition—within just two weeks, the entire landscape of the track has undergone a tremendous change.

According to reports, when the company announced its listing on July 21, the ETH reserves of the other two companies were 300,000 and 280,000 coins respectively, both below the company's planned initial scale of 400,000 coins. However, by August 5, one company's holdings had soared to 833,000 coins (market value of $3 billion), an increase of 177%, taking the lead; the other company also did not fall behind, with reserves reaching 498,000 coins (market value of $1.8 billion), an increase of 78%, ranking second, and publicly announced its goal of hitting 1 million coins. Even a former Bitcoin mining company urgently pivoted, accumulating 120,000 ETH.

This frenzy of accumulation confirms a certain bank's prediction: the treasury company has purchased over 1% of the circulating supply of ETH, and this proportion could soar to 10%. A hundred billion dollar "arms race" is fully escalating.

In this intense competition, the company has emerged with the dual advantage of "capital + strategy." Firstly, the nearly $1.6 billion in initial capital has provided strong ammunition—an individual investor invested $645 million in ETH, and institutions like certain capital have pledged over $800 million in financing. However, this is not enough to allow it to surpass others.

The more critical advantage lies in its differentiated approach. While competitors are still frantically hoarding coins to seize market share, the company has increased yields to 4-5.5% through a combination of re-staking and DeFi protocols. In a low-interest-rate environment, this stable high yield has become a "killer feature" to attract institutional funds.

Annualized 4-5.5%, Analyzing High-Yield Strategies

To understand how the company achieves an annual yield of 4-5.5%, it is necessary to understand its core positioning - "Ether generation company".

This concept can be likened to the oil economy: traditional crypto investments are like buying crude oil for speculation; whereas the company chooses to become an "oil company", allowing the assets themselves to generate cash flow.

The company found that ETH is not only an asset but also a production tool. Through a certain protocol, staked ETH achieves "one fish, multiple eats"—it provides security for the Ethereum mainnet while simultaneously offering services to oracles, cross-chain bridges, and other protocols, with each service generating additional revenue.

Just like bank deposits can earn interest and also "work" to earn extra income at the same time. The total locked value of $16.591 billion in a certain protocol confirms the attractiveness of this model, and the company has become one of the largest institutional participants in this ecosystem.

In addition to re-staking income, the company also earns returns by participating in DeFi protocols. When the basic staking yield for ETH is only about 3%, this combination strategy boosts the total yield to 4-5.5%.

At this point, ETH has transformed from a static asset of "waiting for appreciation" to a productive asset of "continuously creating value."

The emergence of new models, the evolution of crypto treasury

The market always likes to look for benchmarks. When the company appeared, almost everyone was asking the same question: "Is this the next well-known Bitcoin holding company?"

Indeed, on the surface, both companies seem to be doing the same thing – holding a large amount of crypto assets under the identity of a publicly listed company. However, upon closer inspection, you will find that these are two completely different approaches.

The logic of a well-known Bitcoin holding company is simple and straightforward. They issue bonds to buy Bitcoin, betting that the price of the coin will rise to cover the interest. However, the efficiency of this model is rapidly declining. In 2021, the company could generate one basis point of profit for shareholders with every 12.44 BTC. By July 2025, it will take 62.88 BTC to achieve the same effect. The scale has increased fivefold, but the efficiency has dropped to one-fifth.

In contrast, this new company is taking a different approach. Through staking and DeFi participation, ETH generates about 5% annual cash flow every day. There is no need to wait for the price of the coin to rise, no need to pray for a bull market—this is real income, not paper wealth.

The fundamental difference lies in the asset attributes: Bitcoin is digital gold, and its value lies in scarcity and consensus. Ethereum is digital infrastructure, and its value lies in its ability to support the operation of the entire ecosystem.

We can now trace back to the period of a well-known Bitcoin holding company and find that we are experiencing the third phase of the evolution towards a crypto treasury:

Phase One: Pioneer Dividend Period (2020-2023) A certain company that was not well-regarded at the time proved that listed companies can obtain premiums by holding crypto assets.

Phase Two: Mode Replication Period (2024-2025) Successful imitators emerge. After a certain company's stock price skyrockets by 4000%, it plummets by 70%. Other companies follow suit, but the results are also poor, and the simple coin hoarding model exposes risks.

Phase Three: Mode Evolution Period (2025-) A new model represented by this new company - not hoarding assets, but operating assets to create diversified income sources.

However, achieving this evolution from accumulating assets to operating assets is no easy task. It not only requires a deep understanding of the crypto world but also the experience to navigate the maze of traditional financial compliance.

Core Team Background

The core team of this company is composed of a group of professionals with deep backgrounds who are trying to reshape the landscape of institutional crypto investment.

The story begins with a well-known company in the Ethereum ecosystem. It was there that the two core members of the company first met. At that time, they had no idea that they would become deeply intertwined with top financial institutions around the world.

In 2017, after the ICO bubble burst, the "crypto winter" spread despair throughout the industry. At this moment when everyone was fleeing, one member was determined to use Ethereum to knock on the doors of a certain tech giant and a major bank.

"They looked at him as if he were a madman selling perpetual motion machines."

But he did not give up. Time and again he was rejected, and time and again he explained, until doubt gradually turned into curiosity. Eventually, he founded the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA), bringing the term "Ethereum" into the boardrooms of the Fortune 500 for the first time.

At the same time, another member is promoting the commercialization transformation within the company, leading over $700 million in financing and mergers.

In countless late-night discussions, the two realized that the barrier between traditional finance and the crypto world is not only prejudice but also a substantial compliance gap.

"Countless institutions are interested in Ethereum, but ultimately they have stopped due to a lack of reliable investment tools."

This pain point prompted them to make a bold decision: to no longer just be "evangelists", but to personally get involved and create a regulated financial vehicle.

The first move of one member shocked everyone – he invested over $600 million worth of personal ETH as the initial investment. "If I don't believe it myself, how can I make others believe it?"

His all-out attitude showed everyone his determination. In a later interview with a certain TV station, he even stated clearly: "I would rather have an iPhone than a landline". This metaphor aptly explains why he only bets on Ethereum.

Immediately after, the team gathered to start. They found a "double-faced person" who had managed traditional risks at an investment firm and was also a core contributor to a certain DeFi protocol. His task was clear: to strike gold in the wild west of DeFi while also keeping his life.

To ensure technical security, technical experts with twenty years of banking-level system experience have joined the team. Finally, the arrival of a board member from a major payment company and a former senior executive from a capital firm has provided the final endorsement for the company's governance structure.

The team did not have a smooth journey internally. The traditional finance faction advocated for conservatism and stability, while the crypto-native faction leaned towards aggressive innovation. After several meetings ended in fruitless debates, one member made a decisive statement: "We are not here to choose a side, but to become a bridge connecting both sides."

This sentence has become the unchanging core philosophy of this company.

Challenges and Risks Facing Ethereum

If we say that the idealism represented by the Ethereum Foundation, which is centered around technology and community, constitutes the first lifeline of ETH, then what we are witnessing today is the natural evolution and handover of this lifeline: as the foundation gives way to capital, the second lifeline of ETH has already begun.

This new lifeline may not necessarily deviate from its original intention, but it will undoubtedly lead Ethereum into a more complex deep water zone. The question is, what will Ethereum become in the process? What risks will it face?

The first and foremost concern is technical risk: vulnerabilities in smart contracts and the possibility of staking penalties could lead to a 100% loss of ETH. Coupled with a unlocking period of several weeks, liquidity becomes a luxury. When a single entity controls a large amount of ETH, are we strengthening Ethereum or changing its very nature?

Subsequently, there were obvious differences in community opinions. One comment accurately captured this anxiety: from "building a decentralized Ethereum" to "selling 400,000 ETH to enterprises," ultimately evolving into "Web3 becoming Wall Street 2.0."

Even the founder of Ethereum has issued a warning: "We should not be racing to pursue large institutional capital." Now, as 70% of the staked ETH is concentrated in a few pools, is his concern becoming a reality?

At the same time, "When the price goes up, who still cares about decentralization?" Someone has pointed out the core dilemma of the community. A staking yield of 4%-5.5% seems tempting, but history tells us that all excess returns will eventually be wiped out by arbitrageurs.

Similarly, although some believe that Ethereum has become the biggest beneficiary of a certain bill, the spring of regulation seems to have arrived. But what comes after spring? When the policy direction shifts, will these institutional efforts instead become targets of regulation?

Conclusion: A Mark of Maturity or the End of an Ideal?

Perhaps every successful technology will eventually become institutionalized. The internet, mobile payments, and social media have all undergone this process.

As Ethereum transitions from an idealistic experiment to an investment product embraced by Wall Street, is this a sign of maturity or a departure from its original intent?

Time will give the answer.